Woman dies after TCHC building fire

A 77-year-old Toronto woman died Sunday after a two-alarm fire broke out in her unit of a Toronto Community Housing building.

Captain Adrian Ratushniak with Toronto Fire Services said they received the call at 4:15 a.m. Sunday morning.

The fire – contained to the woman's apartment on the fifth floor of her building at 600 Rogers Rd. in Keelesdale – was quickly put out and the building was not evacuated.

Story continues below advertisement

The fire service said the woman was without vital signs at the scene and firefighters administered CPR. She was then taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Health Centre, police said.

Police said the woman sustained burns to her face, back and arms, about 20 to 25 per cent of her body. At that time, she was in "serious condition," police noted. Police said they received the call at 2:53 p.m. Sunday afternoon that the woman had died.

Captain Ratushniak said that the damage to the building has been estimated at $50,000.

Toronto Police Service and Toronto Fire Services both declined to comment on what caused the fire and said the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating the case. The fire marshal could not be reached for comment.

A fire at the TCHC high-rise at 200 Wellesley Street East in September 2010 left several hundred people homeless for months. On July 5, 2011, the Ontario Fire Marshall concluded its investigation into that fire and cited the cause as a discarded cigarette that landed on a great deal of "combustible materials" on the balcony of one apartment.

We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions.